Life of Pi

In anticipation of the movie, I thought I would post my thoughts on Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, one of my all-time favorite books. I hope Director Ang Lee can do it justice on the big screen.

When sixteen-year-old Pi Patel’s family (his father is proprietor of the Pondicherry Zoo) decides to move from India to Canada and boards a Japanese cargo ship (with many of the zoo’s animals in cages below deck), the story that unfolds is an incredible, unnerving one. Only days into the journey, the ship sinks and leaves Pi the only survivor aboard a life boat with an ailing zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a male Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. How can Pi possibly survive?

But Life of Pi is not really about a young castaway and a tiger. Rather, it is an exploration of faith and tolerance. As Pi is set adrift (literally!) with only himself and God to chart the waters of survival, he must learn to live with Richard Parker, who represents all of life’s fears and challenges.

I loved this book because it leaves you asking a lot of questions. What actually happened on that life boat? Be warned that this is not a light read, especially the first section. But, I’d love to know what you think once you’ve had the chance to read this award-winning novel. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.